


A Weapon Far Less Elegant Than A Lightsaber

by KGoblin



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amnesia, F/F, Flashbacks, The Force decides to use a regular person to bring balance for once
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2020-01-11 03:32:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18421944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KGoblin/pseuds/KGoblin
Summary: True Coda is a loyal Stormtrooper, captured by rebel scum.





	A Weapon Far Less Elegant Than A Lightsaber

The light of the cell flickered to life in an instant, blinding her. Her cuffed hands rose to shield her eyes, scrunched up in pain. Flashes of a battle came to her in the darkness behind her eyelids and they flew open. She didn't recognize the room, but it certainly wasn't an Imperial detention cell, which filled her with disgust. To be captured by an enemy was an embarrassment most troopers dreaded, especially one assigned the honor of patrolling the Emperor's palace on Coruscant. She rose to a sitting position, taking stock of the room and herself. She still wore her bodysuit, which was comforting. It meant she probably hadn't been stripsearched, and so whoever her captors were hadn't discovered the folding vibroknife she kept pressed in the most personal of places. Sure enough, she felt the familiar metal rub against her skin as she stood. The room was bare save for the cot she had been lying on, with only a forcefield separating her cell from the adjoining hallway. She noted the empty cell across from hers. She was in a detention block, and not nearly as secure of one as an Imperial prison. She worked quickly to get her vibroknife out, and cut through the metal cuffing her hands together. The cuffs themselves could wait until she was out.

She had started working on bringing down the forcefield when she heard people marching down the hall. She cursed, slipping the vibroknife into a pocket and sitting on the cot. If she was caught so soon in her escape, it would spell disaster. Better to play the good prisoner for now and escape later. A small cadre of people came before her cell and she sneered in recognition.

"Rebel scum," she growled, not bothering to hide her disgust, "I should have known this would be your doing. You will get no information from me, no matter your methods."

"It's as I said," one of the rebels declared, typing something on a datapad, "She doesn't remember a thing. We'll have to tell her the news piece by piece, so as not to shock her system." The tall woman in white shook her head, stunning the stormtrooper with a look of sympathy.

"You do not deserve such treatment," the woman said, turning to the shorter woman beside her, "General Organa, you should oversee her recovery." The stormtrooper turned her gaze to the shorter woman, hardening back to her previous glare.

"I will accept no treatment from traitors to the Empire," she declared, straightening her form. Indeed, she knew she wasn't injured at all, and couldn't for the life of her figure how such incompetence had not gotten them killed yet. She was again shocked when the forcefield suddenly dissipated, and this General Organa strolled towards her without a second thought. Her pulse thudded hard in her chest, as a strange sense of deja vu overwhelmed her.

"There is no Empire, thanks to you," this woman said simply. The Stormtrooper looked up immediately, staring Organa in the face. She threw her head back in laughter, and stayed laughing for a while. The nerve of these rebels was absurd! To suggest that she would ever do anything to betray the Empire, her fellow troopers, was frankly ridiculous, too outlandish to believe. Her near manic laughter almost covered the fear that this woman told the truth.

"I doubt this is the right place to practice storytelling, rebel scum," she spat, standing up. She didn't hear the forcefield reactivate, nor did she see the other rebels in the hall. This was her chance. She suddenly tackled Organa, flicking the vibroknife from her pocket and holding it to the woman's throat. "You're going to help me get out of here."

 

\-----

 

She faced far less resistance in her escape than she expected. It was mostly confused looks from rebels she passed as she dragged her hostage towards the hangar bay. She didn't stop to think about how she knew the layout of this place, nor did she think about how no one had so much as raised a hand to stop them, much less the blasters she had expected. She saw a TIE fighter standing proudly in the hangar, towering above the other, far less impressive ships, and forced Organa up into it with her. She locked the controls of Organa's seat, using the woman's own belt to tie her wrists together. She started up the TIE as quick as she could and it screamed out of the hangar into the blackness of space. She saw that they had been in a Mon Calamari cruiser, floating in orbit above Coruscant. Her confusion as to how that could be only increased as she saw more of the cruisers among Imperial Star Destroyers, and yet no fighters were dogfighting, nor were the powerful turbolasers firing.

"The remnants of the Empire have signed a truce with the Alliance," Organa said as the Stormtrooper stared out the viewport, "After the Emperor was assassinated by one of his own palace guards, the Imperial Senate finally stood up to their military and ended the Civil War with a peace treaty."

"Impossible," the trooper said quietly, "Even the entire might of the Imperial Navy and every trooper in existence wouldn't best the Emperor. No one can."

"You did," Organa insisted, earning another glare from the Stormtrooper, "You shot the Emperor dead on his throne when our people stormed his palace. I've seen the holorecording myself, I could show you." Suddenly the trooper held her vibroknife to Organa's throat again, furious.

"How dare you," she growled, though her voice wavered. Flashes of battle came to her again. "How dare you lie to my face and claim I would betray my Emperor! I am a loyal Imperial Stormtrooper, I live to exert his will!" Organa simply looked the trooper in the eye and smiled.

"True Coda, you killed him to save me," she said quietly. More flashes came to the trooper. The Imperial throne room. A line of captured rebels, knelt before the Emperor in surrender. The Emperor on his throne, a look of shock on his face and a hole burnt into his chest. The rebels, charging their guards while they were still in shock. Herself, holding a smoking blaster pistol. The blinding flash of an explosion.

True Coda staggered back into the pilot's seat, dropping the vibroknife as everything suddenly rushed back to her.

 

\-----

 

"Your Highness. These are the surviving traitors who attempted to attack your palace."

Stormtrooper AH-154 stood guard at her position against one wall, watching the scene before her. The Emperor, in all his glory, was currently standing before his throne, on the dais above a group of captured rebels, all knelt with their hands behind their heads. A Twilek man, twin Zabrak women, a few Humans, all in plain fatigues, behind a young woman in a white jumpsuit. She had been the one to declare their surrender when the paltry siege had been turned on it's head. An Imperial officer, his uniform immaculate, stood to her side, standing proudly. A sense of dread suddenly filled Stormtrooper AH-154.

"Good, good!" the Emperor said with a raspy cackle. He grinned down at the rebels. "You will be tortured. You will give me the names of your friends, your allies, the locations of your bases and fleet. And then you will die."

Stormtrooper AH-154 unholstered her blaster pistol, unnoticed by anyone, almost in a trance. She felt something guiding her actions, something she didn't want to deny.

"Take them to the prison colony on Ilum," the Emperor ordered, his smile faded, "Have our most competent tor-" A blaster shot rang out, catching him square in the chest. He staggered back in shock, looking up to the source. Stormtrooper AH-154 held her blaster pistol levelled at him, her grip shaking. He felt her terror as he collapsed back into his throne, rasped one final breath, and the life faded from his eyes. The room was silent for a long moment. The woman in white suddenly snatched the blaster pistol from the officer's hip and grabbed him as a hostage, shooting two guards while the other rebels sprang into action. The other troopers in the room reacted too slowly, suddenly paranoid of their fellows. All but AH-154 were soon corpses, and she shook with horror. Whatever it was that had taken hold of her was gone, leaving her with shock alone. The woman in white was saying something to her, and one of the other troopers on the ground weakly grabbed the thermal detonator on his belt, activating the deadman switch. AH-154 shoved the woman back, leaping for the nearest alcove, as fire engulfed the room.

 

\-----

 

The stomtrooper was still in shock as Organa freed her hands from her belt. She didn't protest as she was moved to the copilot seat and Organa flew the TIE back into the hangar of the cruiser, didn't fight the hands that brought her down from it and off to a mostly clean medbay. She didn't fight as they ran medical tests and compared them to her files from the Empire, wincing at her extensive record as a Stormtrooper in it's service. She saw burn scars covering much of her body once her bodysuit was removed for more medical tests, though she felt no pain. She felt nothing at all. She was redressed in simple beige clothes and brought to comfortable quarters, not really hearing anything anyone told her. People came and went, doctors and officers, soldiers and civilians. She only recognized the General, Organa, who visited at least once a cycle. The General usually sat with her, explaining to the the Stormtrooper what had happened after that day in the throne room. She didn't pay attention to the words, nor did she care about the food Organa made her take. She simply sat in the chair she'd been placed in, only moving when others guided her. The shock had long faded into numbness, and apathy. She had ended the Empire that had raised her, in one swift, thoughtless move. She no longer cared what happened to her.

She realized that Organa hadn't visited that day. She felt something twist inside, a little slip of pain, but it was something. She slowly stood, her muscles weakened from weeks of disuse, and tried to make her way to the door. She collapsed halfway there, and, curled up in a ball, let herself cry. The pain had grown unbearable quickly, and the memories of her life in the Empire only worsened it.

Joining the Imperial Navy the day she came of age. Rigorous training with a squadron of other soldiers. Her first mission, on a small planet called Akuze, coming back alone, but successful. Her induction into the Stormtroopers. Her next few missions with the Stormtroopers, fighting the rebel traitors. Being assigned to the Imperial palace as a guard. Meeting the Emperor in person, seeing his warm smile from his scarred, deformed face, the result of an old assassination attempt by those ancient traitors, the Jedi.

The memory of him was different, somehow. She didn't remember the viciousness in his eyes before, or the cruel pleasure he took in ordering the deaths and torture of prisoners. She felt as if a veil had been lifted to reveal the monster he truly was, the monster she had killed without even knowing.

She slipped into unconsciousness pondering that revelation.

 

\-----

 

The Stormtrooper awoke in a soft bed, soaked in a cold sweat. She could hear people talking quietly nearby, could smell the sickly sweet scent of kolto. Absently she wondered why anyone would still be using the ancient medical fluid when bacta was so much more effective. She sat up with some effort, looking around the room bleary eyed. She saw Organa talking to a Neimodian in medical scrubs, but the words failed to register in her mind. She realized she had defaulted back to her mother's old language, the one she had been taught first, before learning Basic, and she had to make an effort to recall the more prevalent and relevant language in her mild exhaustion.

"She seems to have collapsed on her way to the door last night," the Neimodian said, looking over his datapad. "It may not seem like it, but this is a good sign. She was up and moving of her own volition again. She may be regaining her autonomy."

"But the cold made her feverish," Organa said, sounding worried, "I should have been here yesterday, like always."

"I believe her sudden activity was a response to your absence," the Neimodian countered, "Maybe you've had more of an effect on Miss Coda than you realize."

The Stormtrooper took a moment to absorb the little information she had gleaned. Was that what the pain last night had been? Had she missed Organa? It was a thought that felt surprisingly right. The woman had been there every day since the trooper murdered her Emperor, and it seemed like a bond may have formed without her knowledge. Or maybe it was the break in routine that had caused the pain.

"Oh, you're awake?" the Neimodian asked, surprised, "And sitting up, without assistance. This is good." Organa was by the trooper's side suddenly, taking her hand. The trooper stared down at her hand in Organa's with confusion, and something else she couldn't place.

"Are you alright, True?" Organa asked, as the trooper looked up to her eyes. The warm, brown eyes filled with worry.

"How do you know my name?" the trooper asked quietly, her voice weak and wavering. Organa smiled softly.

"We found it in your medical files, after the truce with the Imperial Senate allowed for files to be transferred." The trooper looked out the window, staring out at Coruscant, large and bright as they floated in orbit above it.

"I haven't heard my name since I was in the Academy," the trooper said softly. She laid back with a groan, and the Neimodian began checking her vitals.

"Miss Coda simply needs rest at the moment," he explained to Organa, as the trooper closed her eyes, "I'll bring my report to the Senate, they will be glad to hear that she is recovering." Organa nodded, as the Neimodian walked out, leaving the two women in privacy.

"I never got to thank you for what you did that day," Organa said, looking down at the trooper's hand in hers. She felt it tense up, and the trooper tried to pull away, tired.

"I don't know what force made me betray my Emperor," she replied weakly, fighting back tears already, "but I regret it every waking moment. My life is over, the Empire I served lost to traitors and scum." Organa recoiled at the words, but they held no venom, only resignation. The voice of a woman who knew her future was dark and had accepted it.

"You are a hero," Organa tried to explain, "You brought peace to the galaxy, ended a bloody war with a single move. You've saved hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of lives." The trooper looked Organa in the eye.

"I am a traitor to the Empire. I should be executed."

 

\-----

 

Organa visited everyday, as before. The Stormtrooper did more things on her own now, not needing someone else to feed her or bring her to the refresher, but now she was wrought with guilt and self loathing for the killing of Emperor Palpatine, even as she recognized him for the monster he was. She was technically free to come and go as she pleased, being the hero who brought peace to the galaxy, but she never left the quarters she resided in. Her body was thin and frail now, even with her renewed autonomy, and she was winded easily from activity. She hated herself all the more for it, the weakness she subjected herself to as some form of self punishment taking its toll on her psyche as well.

One day, again, the Stormtrooper realized that Organa hadn't shown up like usual. That little pain in her gut from before blossomed anew, and she stumbled out of the quarters into the ship, in search of the general. She roamed the halls of the cruiser in a haze. The traitors who crewed the ship seemed in awe of her, and to her surprise, she felt an inkling of pride at that. She squashed that thought, redoubling her effort to find Organa. Soon, she came across the bridge of the ship. She saw a Mon Calamari in an officer's uniform, directing other officers in their duties. The captain, most likely. She stumbled towards him, trying to stand up straight.

"Where is General Organa?" she rasped, trying to instill fear in them as she did on her past missions whenever she had captured rebels for information. The Mon Calamari captain whirled around in his seat in surprise.

"Lady Coda, you're out of your quarters," he remarked, eyes wide. "General Organa was called to Coruscant for a meeting with Chancellor Mothma. The refugees of Alderaan want more representation in the Senate, and she is technically their queen." The trooper was frankly surprised at this man's level of trust in a former Imperial soldier, as well as the revelation that Organa was a queen.

"I need a ship then," the trooper demanded, her voice far weaker than she wanted. She cursed herself for not keeping herself in shape.

"Your TIE fighter should still be in Hangar 12," the captain said, "I can send one of our pilots with you, you aren't exactly in flying shape." The trooper sneered at the statement, but it was true. She would need someone to pilot the ship for her, in this state.

"Very well," she said, straightening up once more, "I shall meet them in the hangar." The captain nodded, turning back to the rest of the bridge as he tapped out an order on the control pad of his chair.

 

\-----

 

The trooper was horrified by the appearance of the Senate building, leaning on the cane provided to her for support. The regal banners of the Empire had been removed, replaced by a sickening green emblem on a dark blue background. The New Republic, the whelp of a government that had risen from the corpse of her beloved Empire. The pilot that had brought her here, an arrogant smuggler called Single or something, was already gone, and she straightened her posture, walking into the Senate building alone.

People chattered as she past, discussing ordinary bits of life and politics, as if the galaxy hadn't just lost its rightful ruler to betrayal, as if she hadn't doomed them to life under the traitorous Rebel Alliance. It honestly frightened her how easily these people accepted the change in government. All they spoke about was credits, as if that was all that mattered in the galaxy. She hurried her steps, reaching the front desk ahead of the Senate chambers.

"Where is General Organa?" she asked the receptionist, her voice still far raspier and weaker than she wished, "I need to speak with her."

"Queen Organa is currently addressing the Senate, and won't be available for a few hours," the receptionist replied with a bored voice, not looking up from his datapad. The trooper could hear the faint sounds of passion coming from it, and her eye twitched in rage. She raised her cane and slammed it down on the datapad, furious.

"You will bring me to General Organa immediately," she ordered, her voice weak and form frail, but her eyes blazed like Tattooine's twin suns. The receptionist paled at the sight, realizing just who she was at the same time.

"Y-yes, of course, right away!" He hurried to his feet, leading her to a turbolift nervously. The trooper followed, her smug grin somehow more intimidating than her glare.

Soon, the receptionist had brought the trooper to the old Alderaanian office, in which a multitude of people were speaking with Organa, who was sat behind a desk, pinching the bridge of her nose. She looked up at the sound of the door opening and her eyes went wide at the sight of the Stormtrooper's gaunt form lurching into the office, heavily relying on the cane. Organa stood immediately, going to meet the trooper before she collapsed.

"True, how did you get here?" she asked, worried, ignoring the surprised stares of the others in the office as she guided the trooper to a seat. "You shouldn't be walking around this much in your condition. You know what Dr. Orpel said." The trooper looked up at Organa, a look of hurt in her eye.

"You didn't show up," she rasped, suddenly out of breath. Her legs screamed from the walk she had taken. Her arm was sore from the strike she'd made against the datapad earlier. She was tired.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please give us some privacy," Organa said, not looking away from the trooper. The people murmured as they filed out, leaving the two women alone.

"You never showed up yesterday," the trooper said quietly, resting her head back in the chair. She could hear the wavering of her voice, could feel the pinpricks of tears forming, but she didn't care anymore. "I thought you finally abandoned me."

"Why would I ever do that?" Organa asked, shocked at the trooper's words, kneeling to look her in the eye.

"I betrayed the Empire," the trooper said, avoiding the general's gaze, "I deserve torture and execution, not a queen doting on me daily. I'm afraid you're just a wonderful dream, and when I awake I'll be killed for my treason. I don't want to die." Her tears flowed freely now, and she coughed, starting to cry. She felt Organa's arms wrap around her and leaned into the embrace.

"You're not going to die, not any time soon," the general promised, holding the trooper as she sobbed,  "You aren't a traitor, you're a hero. You saved countless lives." She hugged the trooper close. "You saved me."

True Coda cried in Organa's arms for hours.

 

\-----

 

True awoke in her bed, back in her quarters aboard the Mon Calamari cruiser. She felt stronger, the past few weeks of physical therapy already beginning to return her to fighting form. She got up with a yawn and a stretch, limping to the kitchen. Her previous apathy had caused some permanent damage in her leg, the knowledge of which infuriated her to no end. She grabbed her cane from its place on the wall, checking her comm for messages.

"Good morning," a familiar voice said from the kitchen table, startling True out of her thoughts. Leia Organ was sat at her table, nursing a cup of caff while reading a datapad. True sighed, turning on the meal dispenser.

"If you say so," she replied, selecting her morning meal. "I thought you were still with the Senate?"

"We've finished negotiations," Leia said, sipping her caff, "The people of Alderaan will be relocated to Lothal."

"Interesting choice," True remarked, watching the bantha steak get deposited into the oven. She watched the plate slowly spin through the viewport of the oven.

"I don't understand your fascination with that thing," Leia said, amused. True just shrugged, not looking away, mesmerized by the strange way the oven cooked the meat. Soon it was done, and True carried the plate to the table, smiling as she dug into the steak. Leia watched for a moment, before looking back to her datapad.

"Darth Vader has been captured on Mustafar," she read aloud, scrolling through a newsfeed, "Hotshot pilot Luke Skywalker wins Boonta Eve Classic on Tattooine. Mandalore declare themselves allies to the New Republic." Leia watched True's reaction as she read the last headline, and saw the expected flinch. True still felt immense guilt, but Leia knew she was trying to get past it, with the New Republic's help.

"I've never been to Mandalore," True said, staring at the bit of meat on her fork. She wolfed it down, trying to work through her feelings. "I would like to visit there someday, once I've recovered." Leia smiled.

"I think that's an excellent idea," she said, setting down her now empty mug. She stood, stretching her arms. "Once you're done, we'll head to Hangar 6 for your physical therapy." True smiled, quickly finishing the meat and moving to stand. Leia helped her up, as usual, and the two of them made their way through the cruiser. True still felt guilty as she passed the other crewmembers, but her face had been all over the holonet already as the Hero of the New Republic, the woman who ended the tyrannical reign of Emperor Palpatine, so they treated her with awe and loyalty she had never known. It filled her with pride she had only recently been able to accept, but more importantly...

True Coda was happy.


End file.
